


Seeing Is/Not Believing

by pr_scatterbrain



Category: Social Network (2010), Wilfred (US)
Genre: Black Humor, Humor, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Surreal humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-25
Updated: 2012-07-25
Packaged: 2017-11-10 11:14:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/465633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pr_scatterbrain/pseuds/pr_scatterbrain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of how Mark got a dog.</p><p>Or, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfred_(TV_series)">Wilfred</a> au where Eduardo owns a dog (Wilfred), and Mark's trying to get him back based on a<a href="http://tsn-kinkmeme.livejournal.com/8388.html?thread=16672708#t16672708"> tns-kinkmeme prompt.</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	Seeing Is/Not Believing

 

 

 

It happens like this; Eduardo goes to the pound and finds himself in front of a cage. Inside it is a dog. According to the woman in charge of the dog kennels, his name is Wilfred.

“Hello Wilfred,” Eduardo says.

Wilfred wags his tail in return. As he does Eduardo catches sight of the red tag on his collar.

(Red is never a good colour – both Mark and Wilfred agree).

 

 

Okay that all occurs, but it really happens like this; there is an old saying about one not being able to go home again, but Eduardo’s never really had a home so after having more or less spent his life moving from one continent to another, Eduardo decides to attempt to put some down roots. He lets himself be wooed into a new job, buys a place, introduces himself to his neighbours, and unpacks his suitcase for the first time since – now that he thinks about it, he can’t actually remember the last time he did that. Months? Years? Eduardo isn’t sure.

It’s only after Eduardo does all that, does he look out into his empty yard.

That’s when Wilfred comes into the picture.

 

 

Distance and time are a good combination.

Well, they are for Eduardo. They allow him step out of everyone else’s (real or imagined) shadows, get out of the habit of looking over his shoulder and finally obtain the freedom he had always lacked. In short, they give him the space he sorely needed to grow into himself.

For Mark? In all the ways that matter, distance and time aren’t the best combination at all.

More specifically, in the only way that (ever) mattered, distance and time are the worst combination.

 

 

So, for the record Eduardo and Mark talk. Maybe it’s almost entirely small talk, but they talk. Even if they didn’t run in more or less the same circles, the world is a small place. Nonetheless, when Mark finds out Eduardo is coming back to California to take a position in the EPA, something inside him whispers ‘maybe.’

Chris doesn’t whisper when he calls Mark about it. Instead he bluntly asks, “Do you think you can manage not to fuck this up?”

Mark doesn’t like Chris’s tone of voice.

“I don’t like your track record,” Chris retorts.

Okay, Mark allows, Chris may have a point.

 

 

The first time they run into each other since Eduardo moved back, is at an event. Eduardo has dog hair on his tux.

“That is because I have a dog,” Eduardo explains.

Mark looks at him; all lean and golden and he _wants._

Mark –

Mark opens his mouth. “Yeah. I put two and two together.”

Eduardo’s expression shifts. Mark wants to rewind time and take his words back. He can’t though. They clog up the air between them. Noxious and needlessly cutting. Except Eduardo smiles. Brilliant and perfectly pitched and all wrong.

“I didn’t know two and two equalled a dog.”

It should be lame, but the delivery is so polished Eduardo makes it into a joke that people break into laughter upon hearing.

Embarrassed, Mark makes himself nod. “Twenty first century maths.”

“What are our kids learning today?” Eduardo replies, without missing a beat.

 

 

A dog.

Mark thinks about it for a while. Then the next time he sees Eduardo, Mark says, “I’ve been thinking about getting a dog too.”

It’s much better than what he said last time, especially when it leads to Eduardo inviting Mark over to dog sit.

“It’ll give you some practice for when you get one of your own,” Eduardo reasons.

It will. (Or it would, if Mark was actually getting a dog).

It is disconcerting though, when Eduardo answers his door wearing an almost threadbare Henley shirt and black jeans that cling to his long legs. Mark knows he should be saying something, but all he can do is look. Against his side, his fingers twitch and his palms are damp.

“Thanks again,” Eduardo says obliviously, grabbing his car keys. “I hate leaving Wilfred alone. I think he has separation anxiety.”

And suddenly, this time when Mark puts two and two together, the answer is date, as in Mark is dog siting Eduardo’s dog while Eduardo goes on what looks like a date.

 

 

As Eduardo’s headlights fade into the distance, Mark exhales slowly and makes himself turn away from the window. As he does, he finds something beside him. Or, someone.

Mark blinks.

The guy in the dog suit glances away from the window and looks at Mark.

“And who are you?” he asks.

Mark – Mark really doesn’t have an answer for that.

 

 

The guy in the dog suit is Wilfred.

“I thought you were a dog,” Mark says.

Wilfred blinks. “I am a dog.”

And it appears that he is. When Mark takes him out for his after dinner walk no one raises any brows or directs any inquisitive gazes towards them. Apparently to the rest of the world Wilfred is a dog. Like, a real dog. Four legs, waging tail, slobber. Dog. To Mark, he’s a guy in a suit.

Curious.

 

 

At the park they sit down on a bench, and watch some kids play a game of soccer.

Wilfred’s nose twitches and his eyes follow the ball. “So I heard you’re thinking about getting a dog.”

Mark turns.

Wilfred’s expression is enigmatic.

“Yes,” Mark replies.

(No, is the actual answer. Or the short one. The long one is yes. Yes, in a way Mark is going to get a dog. Wilfred, in fact as he is part in parcel with Eduardo and Mark is going to get Eduardo back. Therefore, yes, Mark is going to get a dog).

Wilfred sniffs. “You shouldn’t.”

“What?”

“Your core values don’t correspond with our core values.”

Mark looks at him. Wilfred looks right back at him.

“You strike me more as a cat person.”

 

 

When they get back to Eduardo’s, Wilfred takes Mark down to the basement and pulls out a bong. After a few hits, Wilfred decides to tell Mark how he met Eduardo.

“It was love at first sight,” Wilfred says, blowing smoke rings.

“Bullshit,” Mark swears, because it is.

Wilfred smirks. “Only someone who has never been in love would say that.”

This is a lie. Mark says so.

Wilfred’s expression becomes sharper. “Oh. Forgive me.”

It’s remarkable how much sarcasm a dog can pack into three words.

 

 

Eduardo gets home late.

His collar is crocked and his lips are bruised.

“Thank you for looking after Wilfred,” he says, scratching behind Wilfred’s ear. “Was he good?”

Loose and affectionate, Wilfred arches his body towards Eduardo. Mark watches and feels something unfavourable.

“Mark?” Eduardo asks, concerned. “Did Wilfred get into trouble?”

At the word ‘trouble,’ Wilfred’s eyes clear and he narrows them.

Mark doesn’t really know what classes as survival instincts, but he finds himself shaking his head. “No. Wilfred was great.”

 

 

Somehow dog sitting becomes a thing.

No. Mark doesn’t know how.

 

 

“So you and Eduardo,” Wilfred says without any preamble.

Mark narrows his eyes.

Wilfred takes another hit. “Not that it need to be said, but that isn’t happening.”

 

 

It’s totally happening.

Not that that needs to be said.

 

 

“Eduardo’s dating a vet from the shelter,” Wilfred tells Mark.

Mark didn’t ask.

“His name is Bob and he is what I would call an alpha to your beta male.”

“Did he neuter you?” Mark asks.

Wilfred growls.

Mark counts it as a win.

 

 

It turns out to be short lived. Also, perhaps the first battle of a war.

 

 

Bob is handsome, intelligent and originally from Chicago. Mark meets him when Wilfred gets the munchies, sneaks into Eduardo’s pantry and eats himself sick.

“He should be fine,” Bob concludes after he examines Wilfred on Eduardo’s kitchen table. “He’s just going to feel a little worse for wear for the time being.”

Wilfred moans.

Bob pats his head. “Yeah, I know buddy.”

With unwashed hair and dressed in shorts and a hoody that stinks of weed, Mark feels angry and stupid.

“You did that on purpose,” he hisses at Wilfred, because Wilfred would do that.

Bob shakes his head. “Dogs don’t know their limits like humans do.”

Mark jerks his head up to find Bob giving him a judgmental look. Mark questions Eduardo’s taste in men.

 

 

He may or may not say that to Eduardo.

Eduardo may or may not coolly ask Mark to leave.

 

 

The next time Mark sees Wilfred is when Eduardo comes over.

“I thought we could go for a walk,” he says, perhaps a little hesitantly.

“What about Bob?” Mark asks.

“Bob’s working tonight.”

Not the answer Mark wanted, but it’s one he can work with.

“A walk sounds good,” he says, because after almost a decade without Eduardo, any time with him sounds good.

 

 

Apparently the fact Mark was so concerned about Wilfred’s welfare absolves the fact Mark was/is an ass.

 

 

Wilfred is not amused. “You played that well.”

For a moment Mark thinks about pretending to be oblivious. But then he decides not too. Why bother?

“Yeah,” he replies. “I did.”

 

 

Eduardo gets called to do some work on the campaign trail with Chris. Apparently the people in charge of the EPA have noticed Eduardo’s way with people and with changes in the Environmental Act being drafted they need every hand on deck, especially ones that are as capable as Eduardo's are. However the prospect of going on the road is one that Eduardo is conflicted about.

“I came back for this job,” he tells Mark (they are now the sort of friends close enough to have this discussion). “But I hate the thought of sending Wilfred to a kennel. It feels too much like sending him back to the pound.”

“He could stay with me,” Mark offers.

 

 

No. Mark does not know why he offered that. Maybe it was because of the creases in the corner of Eduardo’s eyes. Or the wrinkles in his shirt. Something stupid like that. Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows?

 

 

Eduardo drops Wilfred off after work. For the following few days Wilfred sits in Mark’s living room and watches TV. Mark assumes that’s what he would do at Eduardo’s place, and leaves Wilfred to it. But after a week getting high and snooping around Mark’s house, Wilfred decides to come to the facebook offices.

“I want a facebook page,” he tells Mark after claiming he was bored. “I need to keep track of all my bitches.”

Funny. That was what Sean said when he made his.

 

 

“Why did Wilfred friend me on facebook?” Eduardo asks when he calls. “And for that matter why does my dog have a facebook page?”

“To keep track of all his bitches,” Mark replies. “Obviously.”

Eduardo laughs. “Don’t let your mother hear that.”

Shit, Mark thinks.

 

 

Wilfred gets into a mood after Eduardo calls.

Mark wakes up in the middle of the night to find him hotboxing the bathroom.

“Fuck off,” Wilfred tells Mark.

Wilfred is in Mark’s bathroom. Mark isn’t going anywhere.

Wilfred growls.

“I miss Eduardo too,” he tells Wilfred.

Wilfred snorts. “What would you know about missing someone?”

Mark knows too much.

At this, Wilfred laughs. “You don’t know anything.”

 

 

Mark refuses to take Wilfred to work the next day.

 

 

When Mark returns home, Wilfred is gone.

 

 

“Wilfred? Who the fuck is Wilfred?” Sean asks when Mark calls him.

“Eduardo’s dog,” Mark huffs.

“Eduardo has a dog?”

(Sometimes Mark struggles to remember how useful Sean can be).

“Yes, Eduardo has a dog, and he ran away.”

Sean snorts and for some reason chooses to ignore the last part. “Fuck. When did Eduardo get a dog?”

(Sometimes Mark really struggles).

“I don’t know. It’s not important.”

“Of course it’s important,” Sean says. “Details about things like that are always important.”

This is counter productive.

Mark hangs up and does what he should have done initially and calls Chris.

“Wilfred’s run away.”

Chris swears.

“I know,” Mark replies, because he does. “Will you help me look?”

“We’ll be there in twenty,” Chris replies.

 

 

In less than that Chris is there. Dustin and Sean come with him.

“Alright,” Chris says, immediately taking charge. “Where did you last see him?”

The last place Mark saw Wilfred was in his bathroom, high as a kite and mean as a snake.

Mark improvises. “The yard.”

 

 

All they find in the yard is an unlatched gate.

 

 

Chris rallies. “Sean, you go talk to the neighbours. Maybe they saw him. Dustin, you go for a walk around the block. Maybe Wilfred’s still close by. Mark and I will drive around and see if we can find him that way.”

For a plan, it’s a good one.

They don’t find Wilfred though.

 

 

It gets dark.

Sean picks up one of Mark’s neighbours.

Dustin finds a quarter in a storm drain.

Chris and Mark drive further and further away from Mark’s house.

At the traffic lights around a dozen blocks over, Mark bites his lip. “I don’t want to call Eduardo.”

Chris is quiet. “If we don’t find him soon, you’re going to have too.”

 

 

It’s getting late when Sean thinks of something. “Maybe he did a Milo and Otis.”

Dustin’s eyes light up.

Mark has no idea what the hell Sean means.

Sean gives Mark a look and translates. “Maybe Wilfred went home.”

And there it is; the reason Mark still keeps Sean around.

 

 

They find Wilfred asleep on Eduardo’s porch.

Curled up on Eduardo’s mat, there is something intensely vulnerable about Wilfred. With his fur dirty and his collar twisted, he looks how Mark imagines Wilfred must have appeared in the pound before Eduardo found him and took him home.

Mark is too tried to feel angry. “I won’t tell Eduardo if you don’t.”

Wilfred nods. “Deal.”

 

 

They don’t tell Eduardo.

(But Chris does).

 

 

Eduardo is quiet when he comes over.

“I’m sorry,” Mark tells him, because Mark is, about so many things.

Eduardo waves the apology away.

“Thank you for finding him,” he says simply.

Mark – Mark hadn’t really expected that.

Eduardo smiles. Maybe he hadn’t expected it either.

The thought makes Mark’s heart feel so full and so empty. It’s disconcerting and Mark doesn’t know what to do. He looks at Eduardo who stands so tall now and speaks with such assurance. There are so many things that Mark missed. So many things that Mark could have seen and played a part in had he not forfeited his place in Eduardo’s life.

This – this is a second chance.

There is nothing else Mark can call it, because that's what it is. A second chance. After so many thoughtless hurts and so many callous acts, Eduardo has allowed Mark back into his life. Mark recognises this and does not take it for granted.

He opens his mouth and tells Eduardo everything.

Everything turns out to be pretty short. Three words just about covers it.

“Oh,” Eduardo says when Mark finishes.

“Yeah,” Mark whispers.

Eduardo smiles and when he reaches for Mark’s hand, Mark reaches back.

 

 

(Mark won’t let go this time. He won’t.)

 

 

Wilfred is disgruntled when he finds out.

Mark expected that though.

What Mark did not expect was for Wilfred to sit down next to Mark after dinner and announce out of nowhere, “You’re not so bad.”

Mark must have misheard him.

Wilfred wrinkles his nose. “You heard me. You’re no Bob, but Eduardo could do worse.”

It’s – it’s perhaps one of the nicest things anyone has ever told Mark.

 

 

And that is how Mark got a dog.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
